It’s not the churches. I can tell you Christianity is a calculated, money making machine that will say Anything to keep you on the rolls. Scientifically calculated music and lighting, voice roll speeches and lies from the pulpit to induce trance-like positive feelings and call it the spirit.
Most of you know my story, and I put this scripture to the rest. Not one thing works as it’s presented. Ambiguous beliefs and morality coupled with endless attempts to validate faith, and bogus prayer that is a waste of time. It was even in the dogma. “Pray like everything depends on god, work like everything depends on you”. Do yourself a favor….just skip the first part and go to work. The entire church experience is a propped up shell game of non answers and conflicting “beliefs” from every denomination. Nothing can be verified, and nothing works as it is supposed to. So go ahead. “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”Don’t feel guilty for looking.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 KJV
TheCommonAtheist 
It isn’t just religious faith that’s a problem. It’s the complete credulity that religion fosters. Today on my FB feed: “Dandelion tea cures cancer in 2 days!” Ugh.
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My mom used to make us drink a “green drink” when we were kids so we’d never get sick. Comfrey, sheep sorrel, thistle, dandelion, and watercress. I have literally “drank the dregs of the bitter cup”. It was awful, and we still got sick. Weird.
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Oh, also, I think you nailed this Eileen. It fosters complete credulity. Perfectly stated!
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“Don’t feel guilty for looking.”
Upon leaving the nonsense of Christianity behind, my first feeling was guilt. I think the one thing that the church does really well is instill fear. They tell you about the threat of hell for leaving the faith and rejecting the “truth”. Everything else is forgivable, but rejecting the truth and blaspheming the holy spirit is not forgivable. It doesn’t matter how confusing religion is, how many lies are inserted (where facts belong) and how evidence is nonexistent. Just believe or else.
Once we realize that these things are man-made creations built from man’s own personal beliefs, we can move past feeling guilty about leaving. When I thought I was leaving God behind, I felt guilty. When I realized I was leaving a man-made religion built on lies, I felt the weight of guilt lift right off of me. If God were real, he would never have designed a religion like this. Once you’re out of it, you can see that plainly.
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Perfectly stated. It’s a mind game and they ward against what they know is obviously coming down the pipe for every believer.
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Mind game is an understatement. I had emailed some questions to my pastor about the way my last church did things. I had made some suggestions that I thought would be a nice change of pace so that we weren’t just another church going through the motions, wondering why attendance was dropping off. The response from the pastor was to ignore me completely and then have a designated elder speak to me privately to try to “correct” my wrong way of thinking. I learned quickly that the church is a well-oiled machine. I was just gumming up the works and jamming their gears. Instead of redesigning their machine, they just removed the problem part.
If they had just posted a “No Freethinkers Allowed” sign on the front door, I could have saved myself years of frustration. I would have turned right around and moved on. But they welcome you in with open arms and convince you that you are a family. Silly me, I thought families could share ideas and not just have them shoved down our throats whether you like it or not.
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Once you’re out of it, you can see that plainly. SO TRUE!
Here’s the problem … those that are still “in it” are blind as bats. And their “radar” is on the fritz as well.
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I couldn’t agree more. I had no clue how bad things were when I was in it. The church has a way of convincing you that the ridiculous is not only plausible, but 100% true. Looking back, I am amazed at the gullibility of humans…including myself.
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I am certain many more see too, but the doubts that are instilled when you consider leaving keep you in the game. I remember thinking a few years back, “I don’t know”, but I’m throwing all-in because I trusted the words of others. I finally came to my senses alone, with no outside pressure.
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I’m sure there are those who are “borderline” but remain for family, prestige, habit, cowardice, etc. I was primarily speaking of those who are so deeply enmeshed within “the faith” that to even consider leaving is verboten. I think you would agree these are in the majority.
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I’m working on a piece right now that shows polls are showing 60% of those leaving, are leaving because of non belief. That’s a good sign considering all the good reasons to leave. Our next generation will be remembered as the sensible ones. I hope
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I have a friend who has a “list of issues” they have with God that they say they’ll take up with him when they get to heaven. If you have a whole list of issues with God, that tells me that things don’t add up for you. That shows you are hanging on for reasons other than a full belief in God and the Bible. I had the same questions. The difference is, I was open to hearing the answers, even though they led me away. Non belief is the best reason to leave, not a reason to just pray harder and hope to finally receive an answer.
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Religion is a treatable disorder. The problem is people don’t recognize stinkin thinkin as a societal infectious disease.
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Yes just look at all the ridiculous things people believe besides religion..some of these snake oil health cures, thinking Trump cares about the people, $100 makeup is better than $15, chem trails, flat earthers, alien abduction, Fox News is honest, wild conspiracy theories to name a few. Makes you realize the complete lack of reason and critical thinking many people have. And some are just plain stupid. Makes one wonder about what went wrong with evolution.😜
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Nothing. What you see is what you get. Simply put, we are a species of hominids with brains that enable us to do what we are doing together right now. The sooner humankind can intellectually assimilate the ramifications of being a significant but small part of a planetary organism the sooner we’ll start considering the importance of securing our species survival. We’re just dumb enough to believe in, well, whatever. Just keep talking about religion and politics for all the world to hear because “ stinkin thinkin” needs to evolve too “reasoned thinking” sooner than later.
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“just skip the first part and go to work” I like that 🙂
…and don’t feel guilty for looking. That’s exactly how the programming works. They want, not unlike tRump, absolute loyalty, and in the meantime heap up large doses of guilt and fear. It is as Ben said, a well oiled machine. And don’t nun yas without proper training in the art of churchcraft go getting any damn ideas. Just follow along, do what we say, and don’t say what we do.
Why people cannot see the men behind the curtain pulling the levers is forever perplexing to those of us who can see.
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As we have all read Mel Wild and some still do, how do you former Christians see his current position? Is he definitely entrenched, a genuine full on Christian fundamentalist – he does double-down a lot to the point of almost lying – or is trying to seriously shore-up some serious doubt , hence all the bravado and mud-slinging at non believers?
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I know that faith requires you to give up good sense, and in so doing you overlook the obvious. Many have tried to explain the doctrine is such a way to prove there is little doubt or or enough convincing statements that you err on the side of caution. I know many, many theologians that know it’s not legit. After they learn so much, they have more doubt than what they started with. Most people that are confident in their belief, say nothing. Wisdom is often silent. I am convinced Mel knows he’s fishing for something concrete. He knows he has nothing. But he has a congregation and so much time invested he won’t call the bs because of pride. Pride and doubt =endless deliberation. The end game is he’s dug in enough to know the flaws. He has made a choice to believe no matter what. That’s a lot of our own stories
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…”made a choice to believe no matter what” And there it is in a nutshell. No amount of facts/evidence/reason will sway this guy or anyone like him. Impervious to the obvious. Condemned to the lie.
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Thank, Jim. This is what I have believed of him for a while, and his current liaison with that obnoxious cheerleader dipshit, Branyan seems to pan this out.
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Also, in the culture is a unwritten competition/charade about who can be or appears to be the most faithful, and that puts a lot of ego in the drivers seat. He puts a lot of pressure on himself to prove to the clicks that he has super faith
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…. and how mislead and incoherent every non- believing, god-hating, materialist, naturalist anti metaphysical
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…. and how misled and incoherent every non-believing, god-hating, materialist, naturalist, anti-metaphysical scientism worshiping atheist is who simply want to bully Genuine Christians (™) and lead them away from the opportunity of giving and receiving the love of Yahweh who was not responsible for genocide at all. Honest. The Bible is wrong. Even though it is the Inspired Word of God. So there.
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“Pray hard enough and he will materialize in front of you and take you to heaven”
*spends whole life of 80 years worshipping a god*
“Why did he not appear o Great Saint!?”
“You just didnt pray hard enough mate. It’s cool GG EZ”
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It would be cool if you could just hold up your hands like Moses and pray to level your cornfields too …..it doesn’t work. Lol
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